Satisfaction of Ice Cold Revenge
by Caelico
Summary: Dark fic. The war has been going on for thirteen years, Fighting a loosing battle will Harry accept defeat or is there another way?


**Satisfaction of Ice Cold Revenge**

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**Summary: **In a world where Harry was defeated by Voldemort just before his 18th birthday, people try to live as if the war never touched them. Though, one can only pretend for so long, which Harry, will have to learn the hard way. Caught up in revenge will He and Hermione manage to figure out what is most important before it's to late?

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter and his entire universe belongs to JKR. The End.

**Credits: Physicsteach; Who made this readable!**

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**Prologue**

**Denial**

_Pain._

_Incomprehensible pain filled his every sense. He didn't know how long he'd been trapped within these godforsaken walls. Walls, heck; they seemed more like stone carved from under a mountain than any extension of a habitable fortress. _

_Well, that would be one's thoughts if they'd never heard of The Dark Lord, Voldemort, currently terrorizing England. For a man - thing - such as him, this would be the perfect spot to choose as a torture chamber._

_Blood was splattered around the enclosed prison, and even the ceiling was sprayed with it. Chains hung from the middle of the ceiling, holding a young man by his wrists, letting his feet dangle just above the ground. _

_This man, who was scarcely eighteen, had cuts and bruises decorating his body, not to mention the many lumps indicating broken bones. Black robes lay torn and tattered at his feet. The only article of clothing that adorned his lithe form was a pair of trousers that were ripped and covered with the same blood that coating the walls and ceiling._

_Creak! _

_The hinges of the heavy metal door protested loudly as it swung slowly open, but the man hanging within did not notice. A black-clad figure gracefully entered the chamber and headed straight for the slumbering man. A wand gleamed in his hand as he raised it, muttering a few words. The chains broke, and the prisoner fell hard onto the floor, groaning and shifting but otherwise still oblivious. _

_The cloaked figure tapped his wand on the mop of blood-smeared black hair. A ripple went through the victim's body, seemingly changing both skin and cloth into a chameleon effect, blending them in with the floor beneath. Once again the figure flicked his wand at the now almost invisible man, and as the figure left the chamber, the man floated behind. Through a maze of passages they went, not meeting even one person, which was highly unusual in this, the most guarded part of the fortress. _

_Only when they'd left the building and gotten far into the forest outside did the hooded figure slow his hurried pace. Setting down the unconscious man and erasing the disillusion charm, the cloaked figure brought forth vials of potions and poured them down the man's throat. _

_A pained groan escaped the wounded man's lips, and his eyelids fluttered. The figure shifted as he started to leave but stilled as he met a pair of startling green eyes. Black, cold bottomless pits stared down at the battered man, who had a look of shock etched in the lines of his filthy face…_

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Gasp! 

Heavy breathing, louder than should be possible, woke the slumbering beauty beside him.

"Harry?" asked a feminine voice groggily. "Are you alright?" Even in her tired state, worry tinged her voice. spill words?

"Yeah," he said while trying to calm his breathing, "Yeah, I'm fine, Gin, go back to sleep," continued Harry, trying to brush off his wife's concern.

"Nightmare?" She asked, more awake this time, as she, too, sat up and rubbed his back soothingly. "Memory or Scar?"

"Memory," he said dismissively. "I'm fine, really Ginny, I'll just go check on Ellone." Without another word, he slid out from their bed, pulling on a robe as he went, striding over to the door that led directly to their daughter's room. Ginny lay down with a sigh.

Ellone's room was nicely but childishly decorated in a light green shade. Toys were displayed on shelves and filled over the brim in teddy covered toy chests. On a small cot lay a tiny little girl. Her puffy blanket had been kicked off to the floor, an absolutely infuriating habit of hers, if you asked her father.

As if she felt his presence the child started to stir and rub her eyes tiredly. "Daddy?" she asked sleepily, blinking up at him.

Harry smiled and let his hand run through her reddish brown hair planting a fatherly kiss on her forehead. "Go back to sleep Elle, I'm sorry for waking you," he said softly, picking up her blanket and tucking her snugly into a bundle

"Can you tell me a stowy, daddy?" she asked, all the while blinking up at him with big green eyes he had never been able to resist. Harry couldn't help but smile and marvel at the innocence of his two and a half year old daughter.

"Well," he said slowly, making a show of considering, "that depends," he stopped there waiting for the predictable reply:

"Depends on what, Daddy?" the words coming out nearly inaudibly.

"Well, only good girls who sleep at night get to hear stories," he said.

Immediately her eyes grew big and her daddy knew he had her attention, "so if you promise to fall asleep again without a fuss then I'll tell you a story of your choice."

The child, not wanting to miss out on that offer, nodded her head hurriedly and squeaked out her requested story. Her father had to smile at her choice, from the time when he had saved her mother from the memory of the evil Tom Riddle and the huge basilisk living in the Chamber of Secrets.

"Ten years ago," started Harry getting lost in old memories, "from the time when Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was very much open and the great Albus Dumbledore served as Headmaster, hopefully this war will be over by the time you are eleven and it will reopen once again…."

Long before his tale was done, little Ellone Potter had fallen into a deep slumber lulled by her dad's soothing voice. Giving his daughter another kiss on the top of her head he slowly slid out of her room and into his own bed, hugging his wife to him. She moaned sleepily and shifted to a more comfortable position deeper in his embrace.

"Do you ever tire of telling that same story?" Apparently she had been listening in as he had given his daughter an edited version of his second year in school.

"To Elle I could tell it a million times," he answered, snuggling into the crook of her neck, and so they fell into their dreams as they tried to catch a few hours sleep before having to wake up just after dawn.

The kitchen of Highrock's Cliff was bustling with life in the early morning. Harry sat groggily at the table drinking his mug of strong tea as his wife moved around the kitchen preparing breakfast. Beside him sat his godson Cole, totally engrossed behind a children's book, only his brilliantly red hair stuck up from the top of the book. Elle was shifting restlessly beside him, trying to engage him in a discussion, but her attempts only gathered a few grunts and noncommittal sounds. Annoyed and bored she gave up and returned to banging her fork on the tabletop.

"Good morning Hermione," greeted Ginny cheerily as the bushy haired woman entered the kitchen. Only a tired groan answered her as Hermione made her way to a seat, taking a large gulp from the mug Ginny set in front of her. Blinking a few times she managed to gain enough awareness to actually form her morning greetings. "Ellone, stop playing with your fork, it's for eating with, darling," Ginny said as she swept past, plucking the cutlery from her daughter's hand and setting it neatly on the table followed with a delicious plate of English breakfast.

A wonderful aroma reached Harry, making his stomach growl loudly. Ginny just laughed lightly, setting another plate for her husband and the rest of the family before sitting herself down and tucking in.

"But I don' wan' 'im ta go!" called Ellone, at the same time as Cole said "Can"t mommy stay home t'day, Aunty Ginny?"

"You know they both have to go to work, but hey," she continued, trying to cheer them up, "if you wipe away those sad faces we just might go to…" the rest of her words were drowned out by the kitchen door swinging close, but not even that could stop the happy "YAAAY!" from entering the hallway. Harry and Hermione smiled at the children's antics; it was hard to picture life without the little tykes bouncing around every morning.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Elle yelled in a high pitched tone as she jumped in his arms. "Lowe you daddy!" she said and gave him a peck on the cheek. "And I love you, Elle-bear." He answered before setting her down on the floor and turning to his wife.

"Take care, Gin." He said and gave her a kiss, out of the corner of his eye he saw Hermione put down Cole and knew it was time to leave. "Take care of your auntie and Elle, won't you Cole?" and then just like that they apparated away, leaving their children in Ginny's care for the duration of the day.

It was amazing how they could maintain such a happy environment for their children when at the gates of the hidden home a very real war was waging. Both Harry and Hermione knew they would have to quit their jobs at the Department of Mysteries soon.

The DoM had always been such an independent branch of the ministry that even the Minister of Magic was oblivious to the ongoings until a new finding was released. No one outside the department really knew what the Unspeakables, worked with other than hazy guesses. Therefore the department was nearly untouched by Voldemort in comparison to the rest of the ministry, but it was only a matter of time.

There were a few things they worked on especially that weren't even documented, only known by them. They haddecided that that was our time to leave the moment they were tofinish their research and testing.

"Harry, how are you doing with the chalk?" Hermione asked as they entered one of the loud elevators. Luckily, they were the only ones going down so they had this car for themselves.

Harry pushed the number nine button before answering. "Good, actually I'm only curving the amount of Iterum Aetas so it will probably be done pretty soon."

A woman's voice echoed through the moving box, "Level Nine, Department of Mysteries."

"That soon?" Hermione asked, surprised, "I wasn't expecting you be done for some time actually." Her brow was furrowed as she stared off in the distance, a clear sign that she was calculating effects in her head. "Well, that would put us quite a bit ahead on our schedule, then you'll start working on the fifth effe– Morning Coaker."

"Potter, Granger." The middle aged Unspeakable nodded, momentarily looking up from a seemingly normal cat, but Harry wouldn't trust it enough to show his back for a second.

"Where have you been with Breed 365, Coaker?" asked Hermione suspiciously.

He shifted, looking a little uncomfortable, but then, as if he had decided something, gave Harry a pointed glance and muttered, "You know we need all the advantages we could get, Potter." He seemed to be totally ignoring Hermione in favor of winning an ally.

Harry met his gaze for a minute and answered. "Yes, yes we could. See you, Croaker."

It took Hermione a while to recover, enough time for the older Unspeakable to disappear from view and earshot. "Harry!" she shrieked in outrage. "You can't just turn a blind eye to that! We could get fired if it ever got back to the boss."

"Hermione," he said tiredly, "It's true what he said, we really do need all the advantages we can get, there are lives at stake, you know." Immediately her face showed grief. He really hated reminding her of Ron.

"I wish he could see Cole," she said quietly, "He would be so proud, I wish he could play just one game of chess, Cole's pretty good for a four year old, don't you think?"

"Actually I was quite amazed the first time you played the game with him."

"I know, just like his Dad."

They had entered the "rotating room," as Harry liked to call it, and stated their destination clearly, and soon the chamber stopped rotating and a door swung open. Harry wasted no time and strode briskly through. He remembered the first time they had been there, in fifth year, but he was far past mourning, a many men had died since then, including his best friend, and to be stuck in the past would do them no good.

While Hermione worked on testing and molding the "third effect," as they called it, Harry only needed to go over some charts of calculation to curve a few numbers. Not to say that that wasn't taxing work, but it was a far cry from accidentally blowing yourself up. Even professionals could mess up at times, but luckily there were methods to avoid accidents.

It was nearly lunch time when Harry finally found the persistent problem and corrected it, now at least the recipe was completed, though there was yet the actual substance to be made. That would take months to finish, as some of the ingredients had special times of the year to be picked or mixed or other such things.

Glancing over at Hermione, who was working behind a shield barrier testing the density of an object, he noticed she wouldn't be done for another half hour at least. Now only the easy work remained for Harry before lunch, the destruction of every document holding his project except for one set which he was to bring home and hide with other such parchments.

Low flames started to flicker in the large pile of papers, and with a sudden movement of his arm the whole bunch burnt to ash which he deftly transfigured to an empty old cigarette pack and tossed in the trash. Another glance at Hermione showed that she seemed to have been delayed.

"Need some help?" he called over.

"I've got it," she answered, "just had some problem with the CM but it's fixed. If you don't have anything to do Harry, you could continue on the Shock Shots. You're the only one who seem to progress with that stuff anyway." A bitter note of annoyance slipped into her tone at the end and Harry couldn't really blame her; every one of the new machines she touched broke sooner or later.

He had hardly managed to sit down and start on the wiz-pistols before the door slid smoothly to the side and let Auror Shacklebolt through.

"Kingsley!" yelped Harry, slightly shocked, but not enough to forget covering the device in his hands with a large piece of cloth. "What on earth are you doing down here? This is a top secret lab, you have no right to access."

"Sorry Potter, Granger," he said giving them both a curt nod, "but the both of you must come with me now."

"Kingsley, I'm sort of in the middle of something. Can't this wait till lunch break?" asked Hermione distractedly.

"H-Hermione, Harry, you really must come." He persisted, the way his voice broke and eyes glinted in pain made Harry nearly freeze in place.

"What's happened?" Harry asked firmly, standing up and hurrying to the Auror's side, Hermione just behind him. Kingsley motioned for them to follow as he walked toward the exit. "Kingsley?" Harry asked insistently when it was clear the Auror had problems answering.

"Prepare for the worst." He said in a hollow, remorseful tone and continued onwards. It was in silent dread that the three of them continued to the rotating room, and Harry hardly heard Hermione command the chamber to show them out.. It must be time, he thought, Voldemort is taking over even the DoM, and they needed to get out of the ministry now.

Their heavy boots echoed in the corridor leading to the elevators, but as they drew nearer the echoes died away to be replaced by the crowd standing around whispering to each other. Kingsley headed, to Harry's confusion, straight through the crowd, parting the people so Harry and Hermione could come through.

If anyone ever asked Harry even years after this day he would always say that the largest part of his heart stopped beating that very moment he laid eyes upon the scene.

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_"But I don' wan' 'im ta go!" called Ellone, at the same time as Cole said "Can't mommy stay home t'day, Aunty Ginny?" _

_Harry and Hermione shared a secret smile as they heard the ongoing discussion from where they stood waiting to depart to work in the hallway. _

_"You know they both have to go to work, but hey if you wipe away those sad faces we just might go to the department and take them out for lunch." the once muffled sounds echoed painfully clear in his ears as if they stood beside him rather that in the other room…

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Harry didn't even notice as his knees buckled from the strain of holding him up and he feel kneeling to the floor. A howl of grief, pain, disbelief and horror shot through his throat for there right in front of him were his dead wife, child and godson splayed on the cold tile floor…

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AN; Well, there you have it. Now you might wish to tell me what you think. Haven't got much to say myself, other than try the first chapter before you deem this as complete rubbish! Well except thatI decided to continue No Longer Sane. Only in a different way than you might have thought. Yes, this is the prequel to that. Hope you like it! 


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